"Becoming A Statue of Liberty"

I don’t know how many of you have had the opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, New York. Found at the base of this huge symbol of freedom and liberty is the inscription:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Perhaps those words should be printed over the doors of every church. Maybe if such an invitation was given, our churches would be full on Sunday mornings. There are so many people who are physically and spiritually hungry, thirsty, lonely, hurting, forsaken and lost in our world, in our communities, in our families and in our circle of friends. They yearn to hear such an invitation and to find a place where they feel welcome.

We often assume that the un-churched will come to us, but to think so is a mistake. We must go to the un-churched - we must go to the hungry and thirsty, the lonely and hurting, the lost and forsaken.

The Gospel Lectionary Reading a few Sundays ago reminds us of this responsibility. Jesus, following his resurrection, asked Peter three times; “Do you love me?” And each time, Peter responded; “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” The one who had denied his Lord three times, reaffirmed his love three times. But Jesus gave him a challenge following each question; “Feed, my lambs,” “tend to my sheep,” “feed my sheep.” And Jesus gives us this same challenge, as well.

Another historical attraction of New York is Ellis Island. It is estimated that from 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was a gateway for more than 12 million immigrants coming to the United States. It is also estimated that 40 percent, or over 100 million Americans, can trace their ancestry through at least one man, woman or child who entered the country via Ellis Island. Until the 1920's Ellis Island maintained an open-door policy.

On the Wall of Honor you can see literally hundreds of thousands of names of immigrants who came to this country in search of the American dream. They came searching for the kind of freedom and liberty that Lady Liberty stands high and proud for. Yet, I can’t help but wonder how many of them found what they were looking for and if their dream was all they had hoped it would be. Sure, by them coming to America they allowed their children and children’s children and so forth to be born in a land of freedom and opportunity, but were their hopes and dreams fulfilled? Did the ones who made the risk, left behind friends, family, and their home find the liberty and freedom, the possibilities and opportunities they expected?

Certainly, we can’t help but ask that question when considering the church. Do those who come to the church find what they are looking for? Do they find a place of security, a place of open arms and warm embrace, a place where they are welcome, free to express their beliefs, fed, nourished, challenged, and strengthened? This is what the church is about! Jesus sends out the invitation, “Come unto me…” We, as the church must be willing to say, “Come…”

Shel Silverstein has written a wonderful invitation to his book of children’s poetry titled; Where the Sidewalk Ends. The invitation reads:

“If you are a dreamer, come in,

if you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...

If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in! Come in!”

In response to the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech, we held a Candlelight Prayer Vigil. The service proved to be both meaningful and spiritually therapeutic for the pain and the grief we were experiencing. Tammy Tripp, a writer for the DisicplesWorld magazine wrote a beautiful article pertaining to the service. I loved her description of the candlelight vigil we held at the close of the service. She writes: “Each person in the congregation was given a candle that symbolized his or her own life and asked to light it using the Christ candle. As they walked slowly and single-file [down the isle, they lit their candles] and then formed a circle... The light from the candles danced on the wood of the pews, giving an orange tint, and the dark red carpet looked almost maroon. The floor of the church, which was built in the 1800's and has been a place of worship and a place people have expressed anger and sorrow for more than a century, creaked softly. Yopp read a quote by author R. Turnbull: ‘Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs forth from conflict is often the strongest and the best.’”

The tragedy at Virginia Tech was one that brought us together. But we have to do more than just hold Prayer Vigils and light candles we need to be a people who are willing to “feed [Christ’s] sheep.” We need to be willing to “tend to [Christ’s] lambs.”

May Edgemont stand tall and proud to be a place where all are welcome. May we be willing to feed and tend to Christ’s sheep. May we be willing to stand up for freedom and justice for all. May we affirm; “In essentials; unity. In non-essentials; liberty. In all things; charity.”